Officers from the Otolo Nnewi police command in Anambra State recently arrested Jude Egbas, deputy editor of TheCable, and his family, holding them for 10 hours before releasing them after he paid N150,000.
Egba’s wife, Ogechukwu Chukwujekwu, and their children, Munachukwu and Adela, aged 13 and three, were detained with him on December 28, 2025, in Ndiakwu community, Otolo Nnewi.
How it started
The journalist, who had travelled to Nnewi to spend Christmas with his wife and in-laws, said the trouble began when his wife’s uncle, Collins Okechukwu Anya, visiting from the United States, assaulted her during an argument.
“Anya had attacked and slapped her twice as tempers rose. The altercation had stemmed from an alternative power supply arrangement the night before, as the building is not yet connected to the power grid,” Egbas said.
The confrontation escalated when his wife damaged a television while defending herself, further aggravating tensions.
Armed vigilantes intervene
Egbas said Anya contacted the head of a local security outfit, Agunechemba, whose armed members arrived and began beating everyone in the building.
“Before long, the vigilantes were beating up everyone in the building. Helen, my wife’s younger sister, was dished a hot slap and her clothes were ripped apart. She was basically stripped naked,” he narrated.
“I had confronted the assailant to say it was wrong to be laying a hand on a woman or treating a lady in that manner. But I was roughened up too for my troubles and insulted by the gun-wielding team. I basically had a gun pointed to my head at this point.”
As the family prepared to leave, police officers from Otolo Nnewi station arrived.
Police arrest and abuse
According to Egbas, the police team, led by Superintendent Onyebuchi Isiwekpeni, arrested him and his family members.
“I was dragged by the waist like a common criminal and bundled into the police van parked outside. I watched helplessly as police officers beat up my wife, leaving marks on her body,” the journalist said.
“My wife and her sister, my children, were also thrown into the back of the van. Then our phones were seized. What breaks me to this day was my three-year-old crying in my arms as we were driven to the police station.”
At the station, when Egbas identified himself as a journalist, Isiwekpeni reportedly verbally attacked him.
“‘Idiot. Bastard. If you are a journalist, so what? Silicon, compound fool!!’” the officer bellowed after removing my face cap and glasses.
“I read journalism too and I don’t use it because it’s such a useless profession,” Egbas recalled.
He said his wife was also subjected to verbal abuse and slut-shaming by the officer.
The family, including their caregiver, was reportedly held for 10 hours without phone access, food or water.
Extortion demand
Around 5pm, Egbas said Isiwekpeni summoned him and demanded payment for their freedom.
“First, I was told to pay N220,000. We pleaded for more than an hour. Thereafter, we were asked to pay N150,000. We were all drained at this point and night was fast approaching. It was a Sunday and I had to report to work the next day. The police made it clear that we were all going to spend the night in the cell if I didn’t pay up,” he said.
After a relative in the United States sent the money, Egbas was permitted to leave the station to withdraw the cash.
“When I returned, with the N150,000 concealed in a black polythene bag, Isiwekpeni still coerced me and my wife to write statements and an undertaking, and still made me sit as he counted the money to make sure it was complete to the last kobo, before we were let go,” he stated.
